Huntsman aims for GOP moderates

EXETER, N.H. — Jon Huntsman followed his formal presidential campaign launch Tuesday morning at Liberty State Park with a town hall meeting here with voters in the first-in-the-nation primary.

Though Huntsman traded his suit and tie for an open collar navy blue checkered shirt, the former Utah governor and ambassador to China repeated a speech that emphasized foreign policy and global economic credentials and echoed with the themes of Ronald Reagan — though now peppered with a few references to the state, including a mention of the “live free or die” slogan.

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Kicking off the campaign, Huntsman introduced himself as “a governor of the great state of Utah, a businessman, and a diplomat,” outlining a campaign that will steer clear of attacks of the other seven GOP contenders and his former boss, Barack Obama.

It’s a dicey strategy in a conservative party that shows no signs of wanting a velvet glove approach to the president. Huntsman’s opponents, including Tim Pawlenty and Michele Bachmann, are already aggressively attacking Obama. Frontrunner Mitt Romney has gone so far as to say the president has “failed America.”

Huntsman, by contrast, spent two years working for the administration, and is already taking heat for some of the praise he heaped on Obama during that time.

The former governor’s aim is to appeal to independents and moderate Republican voters that the rest of the field has so far largely ignored. While Huntsman’s opening video calls him the “ultimate conservative,” he has taken moderate positions on the environment, immigration and supports same sex civil unions — a stance that’s earned him the backing of several gay Republican groups.

But it’s not clear there’s a constituency for Huntsman’s unique brand of Republicanism. The energy in the party is in the conservative Tea Party wing — which wants direct confrontation with Obama. Huntsman’s already said he’ll skip the caucuses in Iowa, where social conservatives hold considerable sway, but that places a huge bet on a strong performance in New Hampshire, where he returned after already doing two retail tours here in the two months since returning from China.

His bet is that a bold break from the mold—marked by departures from party orthodoxy and standard political attacks on foes — will resonate when accompanied by an optimistic message calling for fundamental change.